First pregnancy, no family here in the UK and suffer from FH. Please help with NHS in SW London.

[Athenean]

Hi ladies,

I did a search on Google and found this awesome site. I am new to the forum so apologies for the long message. I have no family here in the UK but I suffer from FH (Familial Hypercholesterolaemia) which means I have very high cholesterol naturally. I have stopped taking my medication now that I am pregnant so my cholesterol is even higher than ever (about 9!). I have a very sad family history with a sister dying of a heart condition at birth and an aunt (who also had FH) that had a heart attack during labour.

This really freaks me out but explaining this to my GP on the NHS he seems to think it doesn't mean I should be a high-risk pregnancy.

I have looked into private birth and the money is just impossible - it is just not an option. Can anyone give me some tips on the NHS? I have been referred to Chelsea and Westminster Hospital. Any advice?

Thanks so much and I hope this forum will help me through this! I am very excited and anxious.

Hi there - congratulations on your pregnancy.

You will find here that doctors are quite level headed and don't suddenly start ordering loads of tests for the sake of it. The last thing they want to do is panic. They consider pregnancy a normal, healthy thing, rather than an illness.

One of the good things about the system is that you will get a midwife who will have a lot more time for you. She is an expert in pregnancy rather than your GP. She is a partner and you discuss the management of your pregnancy together. If you need to be refered to a cardiologist, dietitian etc, she will be able to make it happen.

I imagine that your GP's view is that you can have a normal pregnancy with your condition, but I would imagine that that will include quite a bit of monitoring to make sure that you and the baby are healthy throughout and that you get the type of birth that you want.

It sounds like you may well be referred to a consultant at some point, and will then be under consultant care which is a bit like a high-risk pregnancy but doesn't sound so scary. You can always ask the midwife to be referred - it might not happen but doesn't hurt to ask. Hope it all goes well for you.

P.S. At your booking-in appointment with your midwife, you should be asked lots of questions about family history - this is when the problems will be flagged up I should think.

Just wanted to say good luck really - I have many friends who've been really pleased with their care at C&W NHS so I think you are in good hands. Also I have encountered a few of the consultant OBs at C&W and always been impressed - those boys know their onions and you are in good hands.